On Thu, 18 Sep 2008 11:34:23 -0500, Cecil Moore
wrote:

Jeff Liebermann wrote:
Perhaps the
FCC could balkanize the ham bands into technical and non-technical
sub-bands, where the clueless and those that still design, calculate,
and build their own equipment can be seperated for their own safety.

10-4 Gud Buddy! Didn't that already happen back in
the 60's when they took 11m away from hams?

Yep. Also the bottom of the 1296MHz band went to GPS because hams
couldn't do anything useful with it. Also most of the 220MHz band
went to ACSSB and inland waterways because it was under-utilized and
because the ARRL couldn't get it together on no-code licensing. We
almost lost the 2.4GHz band because the ARRL was going to demand
priority over unlicensed wi-fi operation, but that was averted when
the ARRL directors received a rare dose of common sense from unknown
sources.

Unfortunately, the common justification these days is that ham radio
is a service hobby. When was the last time that ham radio advanced
the state of the art? I have some examples, but they're sufficiently
obscure that none would be sufficient to justify ham radios continued
existence. There is some logic in using the ham bands as a proving
ground for new technologies. Metricom did exactly that, but rapidly
switched to commerical operation. It seems that such advanced
experimentation is discouraged by Part 97. Most of the progress today
is in HF digital modes. These have their own sub-bands by convention.
Also QRP operation, spacecom, CW, and weak signal sub-bands. Various
nets also operate on specific frequencies. It wouldn't be much of a
stretch to unofficially allocate a sub-band to the technically
challenged, such as the old Novice class sub-bands.

Personally, I've suggested that CB'ers and Free Banders be issued
complimentary ham licenses for 10 meters and let them fight it out.
I'll be betting that the CB'ers win. Most of the "new hams" these
days are former CB'ers. With a few notable exceptions, most are quite
nice, but also technically lacking.



--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558